U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said his department is working to expand the availability of capital to businesses and consumers and may use funds from the $700 billion bank rescue plan to help homeowners.

“We are actively engaged in developing additional programs to strengthen our financial system so that lending flows into our economy,” Paulson said in the text of a speech in Washington. “We are continuing to examine potential foreclosure mitigation ideas that may be an appropriate use” of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. ...The Treasury has committed all except $20 billion of the first half of the TARP funds in injecting capital into banks, AIG and Fannie and Freddie.